The instant application should be granted the priority dates of Dec. 15, 2010, the filing date of the corresponding German patent application 10 2010 061 272.3, as well as Dec. 2, 2011, the filing date of the International patent application PCT/DE2011/075296.
The invention relates to a fragmentable projectile casing for an explosive projectile, with predetermined breaking points distributed over the projectile casing for the shaping of fragments. The invention further relates to a method for handling a fragmentable projectile casing for an explosive projectile, with predetermined breaking points distributed over the projectile casing for the shaping of fragments.
Explosive projectiles are used, for example, as artillery ammunition. DE 10 2007 007 403 A1 describes an explosive projectile for assault ammunition bodies, for example mortar grenades or rockets.
In addition to a projectile casing, explosive projectiles typically have an explosive charge disposed within the projectile casing. As a result of firing the explosive charge into the target or in the area of the target, the projectile casing splinters into a plurality of fragments. The fragments are accelerated by the pressure of the detonation of the explosive charge and act on the target with a corresponding kinetic energy. Thus, an explosive projectile primarily acts by the fragmentation of its projectile casing.
The effect of the explosive projectile depends in a large degree on the formation of fragments. For example, upon detonation of the explosive charge, in addition to those fragments which can receive sufficient kinetic energy based on their masses to act on the target, also fragments are formed which based on having a mass that is too small or too great do not act on the target or act only in a limited peripheral manner on the target. In this manner, the shape or surface of the fragments affects their effectiveness. For example, fragments, which have an unfavorable shape, are slowed down based on their air resistance.
In order to achieve predominantly fragments with the desired shape upon detonation of the explosive charge, the projectile casing can be provided with predetermined breaking points. For example, DE 21 26 351 C1 describes a projectile casing, which has predetermined breaking points distributed uniformly over the projectile casing. By means of these predetermined breaking points, the formation of the fragments can be effected, such that more fragments with the desired shape are created.
When shooting an explosive projectile from a barrel of a weapon, in particular with spin-stabilized explosive projectiles, large forces are transferred onto the projectile casing. In order to ensure the strength of the projectile casing also during these increased demands, the projectile casings often have an irregular wall thickness. For example, regions of the projectile casing that are heavily stressed can be formed to be correspondingly thicker.
With such projectile casings with irregular wall thicknesses, it has been considered to be a disadvantage to provide uniformly distributed predetermined breaking points, since with detonation of the explosive charge, also an irregular fragment formation is provided from the irregular wall thickness. In addition, if the shape of the fragments is similar by uniformly distributed predetermined breaking points, the masses of the fragments, however, would differ greatly from one another. In the areas of smaller and larger wall thickness, fragments form with masses that are too small or too large, which are not effective or only marginally effective, whereby the effect of such explosive projectiles on the target is impaired.
A further disadvantage of the projectile casing known from DE 21 26 241 C1 is that the predetermined breaking points are formed as lines running along the circumference of the projectile casing as well as along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the projectile casing, whereby only the predetermined breaking points running in the circumferential direction extend over the entire wall thickness. Thus, the projectile casing slants, such that upon detonation, the explosive charge breaks in the circumferential direction rather than in the longitudinal direction. It is possible that the predetermined breaking points do not break in the longitudinal direction. The result is an irregular formation of fragments and a reduced effect of the explosive projectile upon fragmentation of the projectile casing.